When he called out to a member of the audience at a campaign rally in Indianola, Iowa, in January, past president Donald Trump was speaking. ” Another person who’s a pal of mine”, Trump said. ” I’m not going to mess around with — he ‘s]mayor of ] Knox County, Tennessee”.
” Do you know Glenn Jacobs“? Trump asked the audience. ” Goes by the name of Kane. Kane! Kane! Where is Kane”?
The former president and the Knox County president were in the WWE expert wrestler’s seat, and he was smiling at the audience. He had previously delivered a discourse supporting Trump. As Trump turned the viewer’s attention to Jacobs, the first thing people — all — notices is that he’s giant.
Simply request Trump. ” Look at the size of this man, male oh man. He’s all male. He’s all man”, the presumed GOP presidential nomination said. ” How high are you, 6’8″? And weigh, what, 300- everything?”
” That’s not negative. I’m not that far ahead, either,” Trump joked.
Trump and Jacobs have both endorsed one another. Jacobs is currently in the middle of his next and final term as president, which will end in 2026. The next phrase of the governor. Bill Lee (R-TN) even ends that phrase, leaving some state spectators both inside and outside the state to know if Jacobs has his sights set on the job.
To date, Jacobs has n’t said anything definitive. When we asked if there was any chance he would run for governor, Jacobs told the Washington Examiner“, Well. I have two more years in business and am term- minimal, so I’m considering my alternatives, including whether I’ll be in politics.”
Some of Jacobs’s components call him” Mayor Kane. ” Could we see” Governor Kane “in the future? If so, he would become the second professional wrestler to run for governor following Jesse” The Body” Ventura’s 1998 victory on the Reform Party’s ticket.
Jacobs is significant in many ways. He’s among the biggest celebrities in the background of World Wrestling Entertainment, mixing it up with the likes of Dwayne” The Rock” Johnson and” Stone Cold” Steve Austin at the top of the company’s soon ‘ 90s growth phase. Jacobs has long been one of the most widely regarded players in his field, performing at a high level for more than most athletes’ jobs last ( the Kane image debuted in 1997, but he had been wrestling for decades before ). Jacobs’s personality, the diabolical, direct- from- devil Kane, is the story brother of The Undertaker.
Yet Tournament legend Mick Foley, the Obama- loving, boldly stained- in- the- wool Democrat, traveled to Knox County to embrace his Democratic friend. Foster claimed that it was more about the man’s character than political parties.  ,
The greatest honor that can be bestowed on someone in his entertainment industry, where Jacobs spoke before an empty room due to the pandemic, was Kane inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021. He ended his inaugural address by reflecting on the opportunities that America offers, his upbringing in the workforce, and his personal and professional struggles.
” In closing, I’d like you to think about this,” Jacobs said”. Someone like me, a Missouri farm boy who lacks all other noteworthy natural talents and talents besides a strong work ethic, tenacity, and the unwavering resolve to endure the difficulties.
” If someone like me can stumble through life, failing repeatedly, before finally finding something to do it, become a well-known entertainer, and ultimately land themselves in the Hall of Fame,” he continued. Imagine what you can do if someone like me can do that.
There are people who do n’t even watch professional wrestling as well as those who used to watch and know Kane. In 2013, Jacobs and I traveled to the Heritage Foundation to discuss policy at a private meeting. One person requested a photo with him after it was over. Jacobs obliged. Then there was a line immediately, with some attendees and others in attendance.
One of the most renowned and oldest conservative institutions suddenly turned into the location of a Kane meet and greet.
His political career has benefited from his exposure to other types of fame. Some people unfamiliar with the professional wrestling industry found his campaign odd when he announced that he was running for mayor in 2017. When he began to attract sizable support and attention, both locally and nationally, that made a difference. When legends Ric Flair, The Undertaker, and other high- profile wrestlers came to Knox County to endorse their friend and colleague, people took notice.
After surviving a close GOP primary in 2018, where Jacobs and second place had only 17 votes, he miraculously won the mayor’s seat. He succeeded Tim Burchett, who now serves in Congress representing Tennessee’s 2nd District.
As mayor, Jacobs, a staunch and outspoken libertarian, famously resisted many of the lockdowns and mandates during the coronavirus pandemic at a time when most leaders were complying, even many Republicans.
” I understand that COVID- 19 is a very serious issue and this is a crisis,” Jacobs said in April 2020″. However, we also have a financial crisis, with millions of people without jobs and having no way to make a living, many of whom are ill as a result of government-mandated shutdowns. We also have a looming mental health crisis as people deal with depression and hopelessness and isolation, which are made worse by job loss. Many of them have already committed suicide.
How prescient. He also condemned the stay- at- home order from Lee, the Republican governor”. In the spring of 2020, Jacobs said,” I applaud the governor for carrying out his convictions and fulfilling his duty to protect the people of Tennessee.”
However, the mayor continued,” I cannot applaud any government that is mandating virtually everything we are allowed to do. I cannot.
Property taxes have increased as inflation has, but Jacobs ‘ has not. Following on his campaign promise to be the mayor of the entire community, Jacobs established the Skilled Trades Academy and Regional Training Center in 2021. We need more welders, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, carpenters, masons, and many others,” Jacobs said. He helped raise third-grade literacy rates by starting Read City USA. When he entered office, Jacobs helped kick off a community effort to target the drug epidemic by partnering with churches, creating a nonprofit, faith- based recovery center. In March, Knox County leaders and its mayor addressed homelessness”. Instead of spending a bunch of money on government programs that are ineffective, get the community involved,” Jacobs told the Washington Examiner. Knox County has just received$ 440 in job opportunities and$ 300 million in manufacturing as of this writing.
Jacobs is also his state’s chairman for U. S. Term Limits, which seeks a term limits amendment to the Constitution. The Tennessee legislature approved a proposal in April to accomplish that.
Jacobs, a former political outsider and novice like Trump, has a solid track record to build on. Voters will examine Trump’s accomplishments and drawbacks in November.
However, if Trump is given a second chance at the White House and polls and trends indicate that Jacobs ‘ chances are slim with a second endorsement in a gubernatorial bid could be improved. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) of the 7th District, who previously said he would not run for reelection in Congress but later changed his mind, and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, who is also a Republican, are other potential candidates for that seat.
All are conservative Republicans, but Jacobs’s particular libertarian brand and journey may differentiate him in some voters ‘ eyes.
When asked, Jacobs will answer that he is a” Ron Paul Republican,” with both feet firmly firmly firmly planted in that party. He was an avid supporter of Paul’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. Today, Jacobs politically aligns with, obviously, the elder Paul’s son, Sen. Rand Paul ( R- KY), who endorsed Jacobs, along with firebrand Rep. Thomas Massie ( R- KY ). Rand Paul has long been a Trump ally and reportedly has a listening ear for him, particularly in terms of foreign policy. When Trump obstructed the first COVID-19 aid bill by forcing a recorded vote, he demanded that Massie be thrown out of the GOP in 2020. However, on May 21, Massie defeated two Republican primary rivals with ease and Trump’s support.
The two most obstinate libertarian Republicans in Congress are Paul and Massie, the younger two. Jacobs shares most of his convictions, and to the same extent, where they might disagree ideologically. Leaders such as Sens. Mike Lee ( R- UT) and Cynthia Lummis ( R- WY ), along with the House Liberty Caucus and a dozen other libertarian- adjacent elected officials, including Jacobs’s predecessor Burchett, round out this liberty wing of the GOP.
Jared Polis was the only Democratic member of the House Liberty Caucus during his time in Congress. Now as Colorado’s governor, the Democrat still self- identifies as a libertarian. Former Republican governor After admitting an affair with an Argentinian woman in 2008, Mark Sanford of South Carolina was a new chief executive associated with libertarianism, something that was perhaps less well known, at least not in his native state.
If Jacobs were to run, he could add himself to their ranks. While most of the rest of their party operate as populists, their foreign policy noninterventionism and aversion to foreign aid are ideal for Trump’s” America First” philosophy, which they stand in contrast to the relatively recent Republican nationalists and the older-line GOP foreign policy hawks. The nationalists are adamant about flexing government’s grip for conservatism. The debate over TikTok is a recent illustration of this difference. The majority of these nationalist Republicans also identify with Trump and are represented by senators and other figures. Josh Hawley ( R- MO ) and J. D. Vance ( R- OH).
If he becomes governor, Jacobs obviously wo n’t be addressing foreign policy, but on the civil liberties, free speech, and free market issues, do n’t be surprised if you see a libertarian approach. How different governors ‘ performance in office could have an impact on the Republican Party’s debate over what it stands for in the wake of George W. Bush and, perhaps, Trump. Gov. Ron DeSantis ( R- FL ) became a national figure long before he ran for president. A decade ago, former Republican Gov. Scott Walker has a similar national profile because of his unwavering conservatism in Wisconsin.
And of course, before political philosophy and policy even get into play, the idea of WWE’s Kane becoming a governor will have its own headline story, as Ventura did over 20 years ago.
Libertarianism remains core to Jacobs’s identity and overall philosophy. He even openly admits that there was only one time in his life when the overwhelming and ominous” Big Red Monster” was genuinely starstruck out of all the famous people he has met throughout his career, including Trump during some of his WWE appearances in years past.
When he first met Ron Paul.
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It would be a fascinating turn. Few professional wrestlers have achieved the status Kane did after more than a quarter of a century. Fewer people who succeed in politics go on to achieve this. Even fewer have become governors. Although it would be a small crime to overlook that Trump is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame’s celebrity wing, there are no such candidates for president.
Should he decide to run, could Jacobs become Tennessee’s next governor?
Nothing has yet prevented him.
Jack Hunter ( @jackhunter74 ) is a contributor to the , Washington Examiner ‘s , Beltway Confidential blog. He was the previous political editor of Rare. us and co- authored the 2011 book , The Tea Party Goes to Washington , with Sen. Rand Paul.
